The Tower of Terror
by Aidan J S Cross
Summary: Skeletor uses the magic of the ancient Tower of Terror to turn He-Man into a mindless zombie- and sets him on Eternos City. Can Man-At-Arms find a way to reverse the spell before Eternia's mindless hero destroys the city?


The Tower of Terror 

The Tower of Terror 

The Tower of Terror  
© Aidan Cross, copyright August 23/98    
The desolate landscape was rough and rocky, and no man had ever been known to walk across it with ease. Few of the people who had tried had ever actually made it across. Even the greatest vehicles of Eternia were unable to travel smoothly across the jagged terrain. And that's what gave Skeletor the confidence that his Spydor was the greatest vehicle on Eternia. It had been travelling across the rocky plain of Joritrea for several days now, and had not once had any trouble. Its huge legs stalked over the roughest patches as if they were nothing. And Skeletor was confident that he would find the ancient building that he was looking for. 

The evil warriors he had brought with him, however, were sceptical. They followed behind him in Rotons- they had chosen flying vehicles because they had not believed that even their most powerful land vehicles, like the Landshark and Night Stalker, the robotic horse, would be able to make it. They had been moaning about this journey because they were completely convinced that their quest would come to nothing. They believed that the tower of terror was nothing but a legend. But Skeletor was convinced it was real- and that the long journey would be worth it- to find the very thing they needed to destroy the heroic warriors and conquer Eternia. 

Tri-Clops was getting exhausted piloting the Roton over such a long distance. It was even worse considering that he firmly believed there was no such thing as the tower of terror. Why did Skeletor have to follow all these ridiculous old wives tales? Tri-Clops had lost count of the amount of times he'd tried to persuade Skeletor that this journey was pointless, unsuccessfully, of course. He kept quiet now, knowing that if he mentioned it again, Skeletor could be so angry that he might kill him. 

Webstor, in the other Roton, felt much the same way as Tri-Clops did. Webstor didn't really believe magic was so powerful anyway. He thought Skeletor should turn to science, especially after the many times that Man-At-Arms had beaten their army with his scientific thinking and inventions. 

But Webstor and Tri-Clops were eventually forced to change their minds. In the horizon, they saw the silhouette of a large building. 

"At last!" Skeletor cried out. "The tower of terror! Our key to destruction! I knew it was real!" And he increased the speed of his Spydor. 

Webstor and Tri-Clops increased the speed of their Rotons, feeling slightly embarrassed after their extreme scepticism. The tower of terror loomed closer in the distance. When they reached it, Skeletor halted the Spydor and climbed out. Webstor and Tri-Clops landed their Rotons, and the three evil warriors gazed upwards at the decrepit, ancient building that stood before them. 

"This building will be the downfall of all Eternia!" laughed Skeletor, diabolically. 

"What's so damn special about it?" asked Tri-Clops. "It just looks like any old building to me!" 

"You'll find it is much more than any old building!" said Skeletor, his eyes blazing. "The tower of terror was built thousands of years ago- before Castle Grayskull- by some of the most evil and powerful sorcerers on Eternia. They conducted practices here that changed people's lives drastically! Eventually, after Grayskull was built, the sorcerers were defeated by the elders of Eternia, and the Elders cast a spell which prevented anyone from entering. I heard about this tower from a book about ancient Eternia- and it will be our greatest weapon against He-man!" 

"Hold on a minute-" said Webstor, "If the Elders cast a spell to prevent people entering it, then how the hell are we gonna get in it?" 

Skeletor laughed maniacally. "My magic is powerful enough to break the spell!" he hissed, and fired a bolt from his havoc staff at the tower. For several seconds, the tower was surrounded by a bright yellow blaze. Then, the blaze died down, and the ancient door creaked open for the first time in centuries. 

"The gate is open!" shrieked Skeletor. "Now we may enter!" 

Webstor and Tri-Clops climbed out of their Rotons and followed their deranged master into the ancient building. 

Inside, there were rooms containing long wooden sticks, drums and long, sharp needles. 

"How are these gonna help us?" Tri-Clops asked, still sceptical. 

"You're taking your scepticism too far, Tri-Clops!" replied Skeletor. "You should never doubt me! I am the great Skeletor, Lord of Destruction- not a feeble lunatic!" 

Tri-Clops wanted to contradict Skeletor, but, aware of the possible consequences, simply answered "Yes, master." 

Skeletor proceeded to answer Tri-Clops' question. "These items will help us more than anything has before. The sorcerers who built this temple practised an ancient, dark magic here. They would play rhythms on the drums with their sticks, whilst chanting ancient, magic words. At the same time, others would stab their prey on the arms ten times with the needles." 

"And what would happen?" asked Webstor. 

"Their magic would suck the minds of their preys dry. It would completely drain their preys' memories and turn them into dangerous, mindless creatures. They would never speak or think- they would simply stalk around, killing any living creature who dared cross their path. The only people they would not harm would be the sorcerers, who they saw as their masters. These creatures are known in other parts of the universe as Zombies." 

"So what are you going to do?" asked Tri-Clops. "Capture people and turn them into zombies to attack He-man?" 

"Even better than that!" shrieked Skeletor. "I will capture He-man himself. He shall be the first zombie on Eternia for all these centuries! The last time I experimented with an evil He-man was when I created Fakor, but he was defeated by the real He-man. This time round, there will be no other He-man to stop this scheme! Just wait and see He-man destroy all his loved ones!" 

"Excellent scheme!" said Webstor. "I hope it works- but how are we going to lure He-man here?" 

"By using my magic," answered Skeletor. "I will create an illusion to trick He-man. In his head, he will hear the voice of the Sorceress, telling him to come here to rescue her. He will not expect what we have in store for him! So let's not waste time. Let us go ahead with my plan!" 

Many miles away, Prince Adam was lazing about in the royal gardens of Eternos city, reading his favourite Eternian literature, listening to the songs of the birds. He had overheard a conversation between Teela and his father, King Randor, about how he never did anything worthwhile. He had felt slightly angry at this- if only he could tell them about how many times he'd saved Eternia from destruction as He-man. And it wasn't like reading a book wasn't worthwhile either, especially not books by skilled Eternian authors. People could often be ignorant of great literature. But he would have to teach himself to ignore Teela and Randor's constant rants about him- someday they'd know the truth. 

Suddenly in his head he heard the gentle, delicate voice of the Sorceress. "He-man….." she was saying, "you must come to rescue me immediately. I am in great danger….. the plain of Joritrea….. come now." 

The voice faded. He had heard of the plain of Joritrea….. a place where few people ever ventured- its terrain was so rough that it was thought to be impossible for a man to cross it. But what would the Sorceress have been doing there? Why would she have business in a place where there was basically nothing? But nevertheless, the Sorceress must be in danger, and she needed his help. 

Adam put down his book, got to his feet, and scouted around him for other people. There was no-one else around, so he drew his sword, and shouted: 

"BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL…..   
I HAVE THE POWER!" 

There was a blinding flash of light, and he was transformed into He-man, most powerful man in the universe. 

He went to Man-At-Arms' vehicle bay, to decide which vehicle to use. A land vehicle would never make it across the plain of Joritrea….. probably not even the Dragon Walker, so his best choice was the Wind Raider. He boarded a Wind Raider, and blasted off for Joritrea. 

The plain of Joritrea was so far away that He-man knew it would take a few days before he got there. So when night fell, and He-man grew tired, he contacted Man-At-Arms on the Wind Raider's radio to inform him of his mission, and to remind him to tell the King, Queen and other warriors that Prince Adam had taken a short break. That was his usual excuse to stop people becoming suspicious when his missions as He-man covered a period of several days. 

>For the next few days, He-man travelled in the Wind Raider, at top speed for the whole of the daylight hours, and would find a comfortable place to sleep at nightfall. He hoped he would be in time to save the Sorceress. Eventually, he reached the rocky plain of Joritrea. But where exactly could she be? He called out her name several times, lowering the Wind Raider, but heard no response. Eventually, he caught sight of a tall, ancient tower built of stone. What could it be? 

He suddenly remembered. The tower of terror! Not many people on Eternia knew about this building, and most who did believed it was only a legend. He had been told by the Sorceress of the black rituals conducted there before Grayskull was built, and how the Elders had sealed its entrance. But what would the Sorceress be doing there? Why would she visit a building like that? She must have been captured. It was the only solution. But how could anyone get inside? He-man feared that Skeletor may have found a way inside, but he hoped he was wrong. Nevertheless, he had to investigate. He landed the Wind Raider, and noticed three other vehicles parked nearby- the Spydor, and two Rotons. So Skeletor was behind this! Instantly, He-man went up to the ancient, stone door, and gently pushed it. It swung open. So Skeletor had found a way in. He-man knew he must put an end to the evil warlord's schemes. He stepped inside, and saw several wooden drums and sticks, along with sharp needles, and there was a spell carved on the wall. These were used by the wicked sorcerers in their spells. 

He had to find where the Sorceress was imprisoned. "Sorceress?" he called. "Are you here?" 

There was no response. He-man was about to ascend the staircase, when all of a sudden, Webstor dropped on He-man from the ceiling on his long rope, and knocked him to the ground. He-man tried to fend off the spider-like creature, but Webstor was too fast for him. He hurled his rope at He-man, tying him up. Then he gripped He-man with his long, bony arms, and called "I've got him, master!" 

Then came Skeletor, rushing down the stairs, with Tri-Clops behind him. Tri-Clops picked up two wooden sticks and began to beat a drum in rhythm. Webstor grabbed a needle from the table, and Skeletor read out the magic spell from the wall. Webstor stabbed He-man repeatedly with the needle. Against He-man's supreme might, the needle drew blood but caused little pain. But it was not the pain that mattered- after ten stabs, He-man's mind was completely gone. He no longer knew who he was, or anything of his past. And he had no sense of anything good. He was a mindless zombie. 

"Excellent!" said Skeletor, his eyes blazing with glee. "He-man is now a zombie. And he shall do my bidding." He stared directly into He-man's face, into his now blank, staring eyes. "He-man," he began, "You shall journey to Eternos city in your vehicle- and destroy the city! Rip the place apart and kill all who oppose you!" 

He-man said nothing- he was incapable of speech. He walked slowly back to the Wind Raider, and blasted off. 

"Now," said Skeletor to his servants, "We shall journey back to Snake Mountain. And soon we shall hear tales of great destruction- all caused by the former hero of Eternia!" 

He laughed insanely, and the three evil warriors boarded their vehicles, all convinced that victory was near. 

For several days, the city of Eternos was quiet. There was absolutely no sign of danger from Skeletor's evil forces, while Prince Adam had, apparently, gone for a short break, though there was no news from him. He-man was thought to be on the Plain of Joritrea, rescuing the Sorceress from danger. Man-At-Arms looked worried. 

"What's troubling you?" asked Orko, floating into his laboratory. 

"It's this thing about He-man on the plain of Joritrea." replied Man-At-Arms. "I know it would take a long time for He-man to get all the way there and back again, but I'm just sure that he would have contacted me to let me know the status of his mission. He's always contacted me when he's been on long missions before." 

"You don't think he's….." 

"No, he isn't." interrupted Man-At-Arms, "I've checked my machine which senses life forms, and it senses that He-man and the Sorceress are still alive. I just fear that He-man might have run into serious trouble somehow. You never know what there might be on the Plain of Joritrea- as everyone knows, no man has ever made across it because the terrain is too rough. It would even be hard for He-man to make his way over it." 

"But he went in a Wind Raider, didn't he?" 

"Yes, but still….. he'd have contacted me when he found the Sorceress, or even if he didn't. And worse still- I don't understand why the Sorceress would go somewhere where there is virtually nothing. And worse than that, I've tried contacting the Wind Raider that He-man left in, but there was no answer. He-man is obviously not in it….. so he must still be out on the plain." 

"Then….. why don't we go to Grayskull? We might find something there that could tell us why the Sorceress went there." 

"I think we better had." said Man-At-Arms. "Let's go now- the sooner the better." 

Man-At-Arms boarded the Attak Trak, and drove to Castle Grayskull. The drawbridge opened to them, and they entered. They went first to the throne room, and were shocked to see that the Sorceress was there! 

"Sorceress….." said Man-At-Arms, "but you're meant to be on the Plain of Joritrea!" 

"What has made you think that?" she asked. "I've never even been there." 

"Just over a week ago, Adam heard you contact him saying you were in danger on the Plain of Joritrea, and that he had to come and rescue you! He set off as He-man in a Wind Raider, and we haven't heard from him since!" 

"I never was on the Plain….. It looks as though He-man has been tricked." 

Man-At-Arms felt his heart pounding. Now there was really something to worry about, if the message He-man had received was all a trick! 

"I must contact He-man at once." said the Sorceress, "he could be in great danger." She closed her eyes and concentrated, to make mind contact with He-man. She concentrated for several minutes, but she just could not make contact with He-man's mind. 

"I cannot get through," she said, opening her eyes. "I can sense He-man, but I just can't get into his mind." 

"Have you ever had that problem before?" asked Man-At-Arms. 

"Never," said the Sorceress, "I have always been able to make mind contact with any living creature. He-man is still alive, but something is stopping me getting through to him!" 

"But what could have happened to him on the plain of Joritrea?" asked Orko. 

"I do not know," replied the Sorceress, "but we must investigate at once. You two go to Joritrea- you must search for He-man." 

"We'll go straight away." said Man-At-Arms, "There are some vehicles in the repair room here, so we'll take a Wind Raider from there." 

They went to the repair room, and Man-At-Arms boarded a Wind Raider. 

"Good luck, Man-At-Arms." said the Sorceress, and Man-At-Arms flew the Wind Raider through the back door and blasted off for Joritrea, with Orko floating alongside the Wind Raider. 

In Snake Mountain, the stronghold of evil, Skeletor had just returned with Webstor and Tri-Clops. Tri-Clops instantly set off to find news on He-man, and the spy returned later to tell Skeletor that He-man had not yet arrived at Eternos, but Man-At-Arms and Orko were flying to Joritrea from Grayskull, probably to find He-man. 

Skeletor laughed with triumph at the news. "That means those idiots will be out of the way when He-man attacks! They will be stranded on the plain, believing He-man is there somewhere, while their beloved city is destroyed by the very man they are looking for!" 

Several hours later, Mekaneck called at the palace to speak to the King and Queen. He ran into the King's chamber, gasping and panting for breath, and fell to his knees in front of the King. 

"By Eternia, Mekaneck," said King Randor, "what has happened?" 

"Your majesty," Mekaneck panted, "You would not believe what I have just seen. I was on patrol in the city, when I saw He-man approaching in a Wind Raider. He crash-landed the Wind Raider- intentionally- destroying several buildings, then he stamped through the streets, flinging people out of his way. I approached him….. asked him what was up, and he smashed me with his fist, then flung me across the street! And his eyes were all cold and staring….. all their colour was gone! Currently Fisto is keeping him at bay, but He-man will beat him before long. I had to come here to warn you of this threat!" 

"Why is He-man doing this?" asked Queen Marlena. "Why has he turned against us?" 

"I don't know- but this wasn't the He-man I know. He seemed to be in some kind of trance- just smashing everything in his way. He wasn't speaking- and those eyes….." 

"Could Fakor be back?" asked Teela, entering the room. "You remember him, the evil version of He-man created by Skeletor?" 

"Fakor is dead, Teela- there's no way he could have come back. It looks as though He-man has been possessed- and he could destroy us all!" 

"Then we have no choice-" said Randor, "We must assemble my soldiers, and all the heroic warriors. We must do our best to keep this evil He-man at bay!" 

From his lair in Snake Mountain, Skeletor watched He-man on a viewscreen, smashing helpless citizens and buildings. Several heroic warriors came forward, to attack He-man, but as they fought, it quickly became obvious that He-man was much stronger than them, and could defeat them all. 

"He-man will soon smash through all those interfering warriors." said Skeletor. "And when he has finished the King and Queen, I will be able to take the crown of Eternos! All Eternia shall tremble at my word!" 

"Just one thing, Skeletor," said Webstor, "He-man might be able to beat those warriors, but chances are that the whole army of heroic warriors, along with the King's soldiers, might be able to overpower him." 

"Then He-man can have some backup," replied Skeletor. "Webstor- Tri-Clops- tell my other warriors to prepare for battle. We shall all sneak around Eternos, and strike when He-man needs us! This time, we really will win!" 

News of He-man's rampage through Eternos soon reached Grayskull, on the Sorceress' news screen. This was a most disturbing situation for the Sorceress. So He-man had been summoned to the plain of Joritrea by a fake message from her, had failed to contact Man-At-Arms, and was now in Eternos- destroying everything? Also, she had gone and sent Man-At-Arms all the way to Joritrea to look for He-man. She would have to contact him with the news- and tell him to look out for whatever may have caused this change in He-man. But what exactly could there be on the plain of Joritrea? The place had been deserted for centuries, and anyone who had attempted to cross it had barely managed to travel three miles over it. 

Suddenly, she remembered an old legend about the plain of Joritrea- the legend of the tower of terror. Most people who had heard of it believed it to be nothing more than a legend. But she knew differently- in the Grayskull library there was an ancient book, written by a member of the elders, which stated how the elders had triumphed over a group of evil sorcerers, who had used their magic to teleport themselves to the middle of the plain, where they built a tall tower. In this tower, they would practise black magic, which had turned ordinary people into mindless killers. That's it!, thought the Sorceress. He-man has become a subject of these ancient practices! But then, she remembered that after the sorcerers were defeated, the elders had cast a spell which prevented anyone from entering the building at all. Surely no-one could have found a way in….. but the similarity between the current case of He-man, and the ancient magic was too large to be coincidental, especially since He-man had actually been to the plain of Joritrea. Someone had obviously found a way of breaking the Elders' spell, and had lured He-man to the building. And the Sorceress was sure that that someone must be Skeletor! She must find a way of stopping this scheme. Her power was equal to the elders'- so surely she could put an end to this evil. But then, she remembered that after the Elders defeated the sorcerers, they could not change the victims back to normal, even with their combined magic, and so they cast them into a far-off dimension. But there must be some way, she thought. She decided to warn Man-At-Arms of the danger- perhaps in the tower he could find a way to change He-man back. 

Many miles away, Man-At-Arms was piloting the Wind Raider to Joritrea. Orko was now sitting on the Raider's back seat, exhausted. Their journey was going well, but they would have to travel several more days to make it to Joritrea. Suddenly, Man-At-Arms felt the presence of the Sorceress. In his head, he heard her voice say: 

"He-man has become the subject of ancient black magic on the plain of Joritrea! This has turned him into a mindless killer known as a zombie. He has already caused great destruction to Eternos city- the heroic warriors are doing their best to keep him at bay. But he could still destroy them with his strength- you must find the ancient tower of terror on the plain, and look for a way of breaking the spell!" 

"The tower of terror….." replied Man-At-Arms, "Of course! Why didn't I think of that? But it will take me several more days to reach Joritrea- perhaps I would be better to return to Eternos and help with the defence?" 

"We need someone to go to the tower!" replied the Sorceress. "It's our only hope. I will use my magic to get you there faster- so hold on tight!" 

Quickly, Man-at-Arms told Orko what the Sorceress had just told him, and the two of them held on tight to the Wind Raider. A white glow surrounded it, and suddenly the surroundings were all a blur as the Wind Raider went faster than any other vehicle had gone before. Then, the Wind Raider seemed to grind to a halt- it was actually moving at normal speed, but it felt like nothing after the speed they had just been going at. Man-At-Arms scanned the surroundings- they were hovering above a rough, rocky plain. The plain of Joritrea. The Sorceress' magic had got them there faster than they could have hoped. 

"We're above the plain of Joritrea now, Orko!" Man-At-Arms told Orko. "Now to find the tower of terror, and see if we can break the spell!" 

Back in Eternos city, He-man caused further destruction, and the whole of the Heroic army was trying its best to stop him. But the fact that He-man was their friend was dissuading them slightly from fighting him. They had to do their best not to inflict too much harm on him- however dangerous he may be to them, there might be a way to change him back. But the main question on their minds was: how has He-man become like this? He seemed to have no memory either- he had been reduced to a mere killing machine. Most of them were more than willing to bet that Skeletor had something to do with it. 

No-one noticed the evil warriors who were hiding around the city. There were pairs of eyes peering out from the rubble of buildings smashed by He-man, and figures hiding round corners. Skeletor and his band of henchmen were waiting for the moment to strike. 

"The moment it looks like He-man could lose, we strike!" Skeletor kept telling his warriors. The heroic warriors were definitely a match for He-man, but he was doing alright at the moment. 

The only person who did notice the evil warriors in the city was the Sorceress, who had travelled to Eternos from Grayskull. She had gone there to see if she could find who was behind He-man's sudden transformation. When she caught sight of Skeletor, she saw that her suspicion had been correct. 

She approached the villain, and said "I knew you'd be behind this, Skeletor! You're the only one evil enough to unleash the magic of the ancients upon us!" 

Skeletor laughed, in mockery. "How observant of you to notice me, Sorceress. Not that it'll do you much help- you're still going to perish along with these pathetic warriors!" 

"I don't think so, skull face. Don't ever think you'll be able to defeat the power of good, even by turning He-man into a marauding zombie!" 

"It'll be a different story this time, I'm afraid. What can you do anyway? You're not even a warrior!" 

"Oh yes? Then think again!" and she threw a high kick at him, smashing him in the face. 

Skeletor fell to the ground, astonished at the Sorceress' strength. Then she dived at him, punching him in the face with her fist. 

"Look! Skeletor is behind this!" cried Fisto, noticing the fallen Skeletor. Alerted by Fisto, the other warriors charged forward to attack Skeletor and his evil band. But in the midst of this, they forgot about He-man, and left the path open for him to enter the royal palace! 

Skeletor got to his feet, laughed insanely, and said "Look how your puny minds have helped you now, so-called 'heroes'! He-man has entered your beloved palace, and will dispose of your pathetic monarchs, so that I can replace them on the throne of Eternia! You might as well bow now to your new ruler!" 

"I'd never bow to you- even if you did become our ruler!" said Sy-Klone, angrily charging at Skeletor, flinging his fists at him. 

Skeletor was slightly stunned by Sy-Klone's powerful fists, but Webstor fired a blow at Sy-Klone with his gun from high atop a tall tower, knocking the cyborg unconscious at once. 

The other heroic warriors looked at each other in dismay. This time it really did look as though Skeletor might win, especially with a powerful warrior like Sy-Klone knocked down. But like true heroes, they must fight on- they could not give in. Fisto ordered instructions. 

"Teela- take Sy-Klone into the palace to recover. Roboto- Moss Man- Stratos- go into the palace to try to stop He-man. The rest of us will deal with Skeletor's army!" 

The warriors did as Fisto instructed, and then Fisto and the remaining warriors battled against Skeletor's evil band. 

Perhaps we stand less chance against these warriors without He-man to help us, thought Skeletor, but He-man will easily be able to defeat the King and Queen- even with those three warriors after him! 

On the plain of Joritrea, Man-At-Arms and Orko had found the tower of terror, and were navigating around it to find any possible way of reversing the spell. 

"They sure did some strange things in those days!" Orko said as he observed the wooden sticks and drums, and the strange spell on the wall. 

"And those strange things were also illegal," replied Man-At-Arms, "and the return of this magic is a possible threat to the safety of Eternia. We must put an end to it." 

Orko floated up the stone spiral staircase to the next floor. He saw several more sets of drums and sticks….. and in the corner was an ancient bookcase. 

He floated over to the bookcase, and looked at the books. They were very dusty with age, and the text on the spines was hand-written- printing had not been invented in their day. The text was fading, but Orko could just make out that the books all related to this strange magic that had been practised in the tower. He picked one book up, and a huge cloud of dust formed as he did so. The book had not been lifted from the shelf for centuries. Opening it, Orko saw that the pages were brown and decrepit. But he could still just about read the hand-written text. He made out the words: 

**He who plays the drums while chanting the magic words will unleash the powers of darkness. He who stabs the victim ten times will inflict the powers on the prey. The longest needles shall be used, and the victim's mind and memory shall drain, with an instinct to kill taking their place. The victim shall become a mindless killer, destroying all who stand in his way. Only those who inflicted the spell on him shall be unharmed. Should the need arise for the spell to be reversed, dust must be sprinkled on the subject's face, while the spell is read in reverse.**

Excited, Orko floated down the staircase clutching the book. He told Man-At-Arms what he had found, and read aloud the passage from the book. 

"Brilliant, Orko!" said Man-At-Arms. "Now we must contact the Sorceress, and tell her what we have found!" 

The two of them returned to the Wind Raider, and contacted Grayskull. They got through, and Man-At-Arms called "Sorceress….. come in, Sorceress." But there was no response. "The Sorceress must have gone to the palace to help defence!" he told Orko. "We'll contact the palace instead!" 

So he called up the palace, and when he got through, he called "Come in, anyone…..". Eventually, he was answered by Teela. 

"Father- this is Teela here. He-man has just got inside the palace and is looking for the King and Queen! We're not sure if we can overpower him! The others are fighting Skeletor's forces outside- they are the cause of this. Can you help us?!" 

"I most definitely can!" he replied, "I'm with Orko on the plain of Joritrea, and we've found the tower of terror, where He-man was possessed. Orko's found this book that tells us how to reverse the spell!" Orko handed him the book, and he read out the passage they had found, then he read out the spell on the wall, which he had memorised. 

"Tell the Sorceress-" Man-At-Arms instructed Teela, "but make sure Skeletor doesn't know, or he might be able to stop you!" 

"That's great, Father!" Teela replied. "I'll tell the Sorceress at once. Over and out." 

Back at the Royal Palace, The Sorceress was aiding the warriors in their battle against Skeletor's evil forces. Skeletor had had the nerve to say that she couldn't do anything to stop him! He'd never say that again after those kicks and punches she delivered. Now she was proving her great power by firing energy bolts at distant warriors from her wings, and disarming close enemies with her powerful high kicks! Just then, she heard her daughter, Teela, calling to her. She quickly smashed Clawful, who was advancing on her, with an agile kick, and abandoned the battle to speak to Teela. 

"My father just called the palace!" said Teela. "He said that we can reverse the spell on He-man by sprinkling dust on his face and reading the spell backwards! He told me the spell!" She repeated the spell to the Sorceress. 

"Then we must go ahead with this at once!" the Sorceress said. "We can find plenty of dust in the remains of the buildings that He-man smashed- I'll get some now!" 

She spread her wings, and transformed into the falcon of force, Zoar. She flew over the warriors fighting, then quickly dived towards the remains of a ruined building, and collected the particles of dust in her talons. Then, she flew as fast as she could through the palace gates, and through the palace corridors. There was not a moment to waste! 

In the King and Queen's chamber, He-man was engaged in a vicious struggle with his comrades, Roboto, Moss Man and Stratos. The King and Queen watched in terror as He-man smashed each of them with great ease. He seemed unhurt by Roboto's super-hard body, and the robot crashed to the ground. He flung Moss Man across the room by the neck. Stratos attempted to use his flying power to distract He-man by swooping on him from above, but He-man took both of Stratos' arms and hurled him over his head. The three warriors lay on the ground, dazed and unable to move. He-man advanced towards the King and Queen, his blank, colourless eyes staring coldly at them. This must really be the end, they were thinking. Destroyed by the hero who had saved Eternia so many times….. 

Suddenly, Zoar crashed into the room, faster than the speed of light. He-man was distracted by the sound of her rapidly flapping wings, and spun round and looked up at her. Zoar sprinkled dust on his face from her talons, then she transformed into the Sorceress, and spoke some strange, ancient Eternian words backwards. He-man was still for a few seconds, then his head jerked back, and his arms spread out. His eyes wrenched wide open, and colour began to fill the blank irises. Then his still expression vanished. He was back to normal. 

"Wh….. what happened?" he stammered. "The last thing I remember is being trapped by Skeletor on the plain of Joritrea….." 

"I'll explain later!" the Sorceress said. Now you must end Skeletor's scheme! He is outside, with his band of evil warriors!" 

"Well let's see how he fares against He-man!" He-man said, and drawing his sword, charged out to face his enemies. 

"Well done, Sorceress." King Randor said, patting her on the back. "You've saved Eternia from the ultimate doom." 

"I was doing my duty, Randor." she smiled. "Now I must go to aid He-man!" 

She spread her wings, became Zoar, and flew out, to follow He-man. When He-man came out of the palace, Skeletor failed to notice he was back to normal. 

"Ah, you've returned, He-man!" he said. "So you must have destroyed the King and Queen. Now you can destroy your former friends, while I claim the crown of Eternos!" 

"I don't think so, Skeletor." he said. "I don't even know what you're talking about." 

"What?! He-man….. you've returned to normal! But how? HOW?!!!!!" 

"Never mind that, Skeletor." He-man replied, "How about facing me?" 

Skeletor knew secretly that he would have no chance against He-man now, but of course, he wouldn't admit it. 

"It would be wrong to beat you now, when you have only just failed my scheme- I need the ultimate victory! You win this time, He-man, but I'll be back!" 

And with that, he and his evil army retreated. 

"A typical move for the biggest idiots in the universe!" said Fisto, walking up to He-man and patting him on the back. "You've saved us again. But what spell were you under….. and how did you get back to normal?" 

"I must say, I don't know myself….. can someone else explain?" 

Just then, Zoar flew out of the entrance to the palace, transformed back into the Sorceress, and said "I can explain. I'll explain everything to everyone." So she explained about the ancient magic practised in the tower of terror, and how Skeletor had unleashed the Elders' spell on the tower, lured He-man to it, and turned him into a zombie. Then she explained how Man-At-Arms and Orko had travelled to the tower and found how to reverse the spell, and how she had carried out their instructions and reversed the spell at the last minute. 

"So it's unfortunate for Skeletor that he didn't read the books in the tower- then he would have known how we could reverse the spell, and may have found even more inspirations for his evil schemes. And it's unfortunate for us that the Elders didn't read the books all those centuries ago- then they would have been able to change the original victims back. But we have triumphed. Even with He-man on Skeletor's side, it was possible for us to foil Skeletor's scheme." 

"Then….. you mean that I've caused all this destruction?" said He-man. "I destroyed all those buildings! How can you forgive me for causing such damage?" 

"Easily, He-man." said the Sorceress. "Your mind was completely drained- you were like a different creature altogether when you were under Skeletor's spell. It was Skeletor who was responsible- not you. We shall rebuild the buildings. Luckily, it appears there are no fatalities. We are safe now." 

"But the Tower of terror is still open." said Fisto. "Skeletor might try again." 

"We can prevent that from ever happening." said the Sorceress. "I will contact Man-At-Arms." 

On the plain of Joritrea, Man-At-Arms and Orko were sitting in the Wind Raider, hoping that the warriors were winning back at Eternos. And soon, Man-At-Arms felt the Sorceress making mind contact with him. She told him that the heroic warriors had triumphed, and returned He-man to normal. She also told him to destroy the tower of terror, so that no evil force may resurrect the ancient, evil magic again. 

So Man-At-Arms did as she asked, and piloted the Wind Raider high above the tower, and used its powerful lasers to fire at the ancient, evil building. He fired at it again and again, until the tower was consumed by a great explosion, and reduced to a mere mess of stone and rubble on the ground. The ancient magic was no more. 

"We have put an end to this evil," he said to Orko, "now let's go home!" 

Man-At-Arms piloted the Wind Raider at its fastest speed in the direction of Eternos, overjoyed at another victory for the Masters of the Universe. 

At the palace of Eternos, the heroic warriors lay back and relaxed, to recover from one of their toughest ordeals yet. Fisto celebrated with champagne. 

"It's good to know that we can beat Skeletor even when he's transferred He-man to his side!" he said. "We really are the greatest!" 

"The Sorceress is the real heroine here," said He-man, "her great speed as Zoar did wonders today!" 

"And I think she showed the evil warriors some spectacular punches and high kicks too!" added Mekaneck. 

The Sorceress smiled. "We must congratulate Man-At-Arms and Orko, too, when they return- they found the way to reverse the spell- they've been real heroes today too! And while we all remain together- and brave and strong- whatever his scheme, Skeletor can never even hope to defeat the Masters of the Universe!" 


End file.
